The Caged Bird Sings
by Chaos Twin of Destruction
Summary: "The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom." [Saigenos]
1. Prologue

**The Caged Bird Sings**

Genos had always had a rough life. Being only 15 when a berserk cyborg came and destroyed his town, killing his family and leaving him severely injured, he experienced a lot of things. When he asked Dr. Kuseno to turn him into a cyborg, he practically lost all his feeling of touch and emotion. He became a reckless, emotionless killing machine. Destroying anything in sight without a second thought, not caring about any human being; the only exception being Dr. Kuseno.

But then he met Saitama.

He'd never met anyone like him. Defeating Mosquito Girl in one punch (well, slap would have been the better word for it) and destroying a building in the process. When he first saw him he thought he was some weak citizen oblivious to the danger he was in. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to judge him just by his looks.

Being his disciple was one of the best privileges in the world, first being saved by his own sensei. He was sure he would have self-destructed himself if Saitama hadn't finished her off.

He was proud to call himself a disciple of Saitama-sensei.

Well, sometimes.

Like with the time with Deep Sea King. He let his guard down too much, and that was ultimately his downfall. Had he'd been paying more attention to his surroundings, maybe he could have taken him out. But at least, the girl was safe, even if it did cost him at least 75% of his cyborg body. Mumen Rider was brave, too, but had it not been for sensei, he was sure he would have met his end as well.

Well, at least, everything was alright now and back to normal.

Well, _almost._

After his sensei's fight with Boros, City Z was in ruins and took about 6 months to restore (thankfully it took less with the combined effort, especially with Tatsukami's help), and everything was fairly normal. There were small attacks every now and then (it wouldn't be City Z if there weren't), but not large ones like the ones with Beefcake or Mosquito Girl (though Saitama would have no problem taking them out, regardless of the threat). They had only had Tiger-level and Wolf-level threats, which were easy to take out that even a C-class hero could take out without much effort.

Learning to control his firepower wasn't as difficult as Genos thought. He had already learned to dry the dishes for Saitama-sensei without burning up the whole kitchen and destroying the furniture in the process. Figuring out how to destroy a building without destroying part of a mountain in the process was slightly difficult, but nothing he couldn't manage.

But now, he had a feeling something was _off_. Not entirely _threatening_ , but very off nonetheless. Amai Mask, otherwise known as Sweet Mask, had been sketchy with his appearances at the Hero Association. Showing up right before or right after an attack, 'claiming' to have been at a photo shoot in City B.

It had Genos on guard.

He was sure something was coming.

He just didn't know what, or when.

* * *

 **Y'all knew this was coming. Once the train starts, it cannot be stopped.**

 **So, yeah, this is my first attempt at freestyling an OPM story. Sorry if some of the information are inaccurate, I haven't been watching OPM for too long. My friend who introduced me to the series is helping me also, so I'm hoping I, at least, got some things right.**

 **The next chapter will be out tomorrow as I already have it done (shocker) and chapter 2 is halfway finished and should be uploaded on Saturday (another shocker) so expect those out soon. :P I'm hoping to get a chapter out every other day as I type during school and such. Also, the title was inspired by this poem I read by Maya Angelous, along with another poem by William Ernest Henley and it inspired this story.**

 **R &R**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Genos sighed, blow-drying the dishes as his sensei watched the news, lying on his futon. He turned back to what he was doing as he put the plate from last night's udon feast.

"Hey Genos, any calls from HA yet?" Saitama called, still looking at the TV.

"Iie, sensei. None yet." he called back over his shoulder.

"Hmm, that's a shame." said the bald hero. "It's been too long since an attack. It's so quiet here."

"I agree, sensei." the blonde cyborg finished the dishes. "But do not get too hasty. Trouble will surely come around soon enough."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right." he flipped through the TV channels.

Genos sighed before saying, "Sensei, there's a sale today that ends in 30 minutes. If we hurry we can make it before it ends."

Saitama jumped up, grabbing his Oppai hoodie, "Well why didn't you tell me before?!"

"Gomenasai, sensei…"

"It's alright, just don't let it happen again. Come on!"

* * *

"Whew, glad we made it in time, huh, Genos?"

"Hai, sensei."

Saitama stopped, "Hey, Genos."

"Hai, sensei?"

"Stop calling me 'sensei', it makes me feel old."

Genos stopped as well, holding the bags in his hands. "Then what shall I call you, sensei?"

Saitama groaned. "My name is Saitama, so call me that."

"But sensei-!"

"It's Saitama. Sai-ta-ma." the hero slowly said.

"Sensei…"

"Sai-ta-ma. Say it."

"S-Saitama."

"Again."

"Saitama."

"Louder."

"Saitama."

"Louder!"

"Saitama!"

Saitama smiled as he started walking again. "Good. Now just call me that from now on."

"Hai." the cyborg paused. "Saitama."

* * *

The pot boiled as the blonde cyborg looked at his laptop. He scrolled through the pages of the Hero Association website and showed a faint smile.

"Saitama-sensei! You've moved up from Class B rank 7 to rank 1!"

"Really?!" the bald hero poked his head out of the kitchen. "Haha, you better watch out Genos! I'm coming for you dude!"

Genos lightly chuckled at his sensei's enthusiasm.

"What about you? I bet you moved up a few rankings too from that fight."

The cyborg scrolled farther down the website. "Yes, actually…" he stared at the rankings of all the S-class heroes. "I moved down from rank 14 to rank 16, behind Pri-Pri-Prisoner."

"Really?" the hero stuck his head out of the kitchen again, a look of surprise plastered on his face. "How'd that happen?"

The cyborg gave a nonchalant shrug of his metal shoulders and continued tampering with his laptop. "I haven't a clue, Saitama-sensei. I don't really care for my rankings."

"Why not? And I told you to stop calling me sensei!"

"Forgive me...Saitama. But my rankings seem to hold no meaning to me."

"Well, as long as you stay in the S-class rating…" he tested the noodles. "You should be fine. Hey! Noodle's are ready!"

* * *

Genos sighed as he stared out into the cloudy night sky. Saitama was already fast asleep on the futon, lightly snoring. His golden-hazel eyes pierced through the darkness like knives, scanning the surrounding area.

' _I guess it wouldn't hurt,'_ he thought, staring at his sensei. ' _To recharge for a bit. There hasn't been any attacks lately, so I highly doubt there will be any while I recharge. Besides, Saitama-sensei is asleep...I'm sure he wouldn't mind.'_

Closing his eyes, the cyborg leaned against the wall and let his systems shut down for a temporary recharge session.

' _I hope nothing will happen while I am defenseless…'_ was the last thought on his mind, before he fell into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _Recharging process complete…._

When the cyborg woke up, the futon was empty with the TV still turned on. He sat up slightly from his slouching position on the wall, hearing his metal body creak in response from being in such a stiff position for so many hours. Light filtered through the curtains as the blonde stood up and stretched slightly.

A bald head poked out of the kitchen, "Oh, Genos, you're awake."

The cyborg adjusted his vision system to accompany the light in the room, "Hai, sen-Saitama."

The hero smiled, "You're getting used to it."

The cyborg nodded, changing the subject, "What are you cooking, Saitama?"

"Oh, just some fried eggs. You like them right?"

"Hai, Saitama-sensei."

He groaned, turning back to the stove, "It's _Saitama!_ "

The hero sighed, "It's alright. I know it's hard for you to get it out of your system….no pun intended."

The blonde cyborg walked into the kitchen, "It is alright, Saitama. It does not offend me."

Saitama went back to the eggs, "You know, Genos...you're quite different."

Genos looked up.

"I mean, most people wouldn't even want to hang around me. I mean, with me being an old and bald dude-"

"That's not true!" Genos interjected. "Sensei is the most coolest in the world!"

Saitama stared at him for a few moments, before a small chuckle passed his lips and he smiled, "See, that's what I mean. You step up to defend me, even when something bad is said about me. You defend me even when I don't need it."

Genos looked at his sensei, grabbing his shoulders, "I don't care if others look down on Saitama-sensei, I will still stay by his side no matter what."

Saitama smiled, pulling Genos into a hug and felt the cyborg tense before hesitantly hugging him back. The two stayed like this for awhile before the smoke alarm started going off.

"Sensei! The food is burning!"

"Crap, Genos help me put it out!"

* * *

"Well, this is certainly different from our usual schedule." Saitama said, taking a bite out of his fried eggs and toast.

"Well, if Saitama-sensei hadn't burned the food, then maybe we wouldn't have to eat here." Genos remarked wistfully, taking a bite out of his toast.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know the food would burn?!"

Genos laughed lightly at his sensei's agitation before looking down and lightly smiling to himself.

Saitama looked at his disciple with some worry, "Hey, you alright?"

Genos looked back up, "Hmm? Oh, yes, Saitama-sensei. Gomenasai. I was just thinking."

"Alright…" though he didn't look too convinced, he believed him for his sake and went back to eating.

The blonde cyborg looked back down at his food before standing up, "Excuse me, Saitama-sensei. I need to use the restroom." and promptly left.

"It's Saitama!" he heard his sensei call after him.

* * *

Genos sighed as he stared at himself in the mirror, ruffling his blonde hair and leaving it more spiky than usual. His golden-hazel pupils stood out on his black scalea, glowing slightly in the dim lighting of the room. He poked the artificial skin on his face, as it squished slightly under the pressure of his metal finger.

He looked down at his hand, ' _Being a cyborg has its downsides.'_ he thought, letting out another silent sigh. ' _Not being able to feel as much as you could before...It feels so foreign.'_

He looked at himself again in the mirror, ' _But I suppose being a cyborg for 4 years now, I should be used to it...But I can't help feel like…'_ he clenched his fist, narrowing his eyes. ' _It feels_ _ **wrong.**_ '

He opened the door, walking back to the booth.

Saitama looked up, "Hey Genos." he noticed his slightly disheveled appearance. "Uh..you alright man?"

Genos nodded, "Hai, Saitama-sensei...I just feel...under the weather, I suppose."

Saitama nodded, standing up and payed the bill for the food. The two walked out of the restaurant as Genos looked down the whole time they were walking, eyes narrowed at the ground.

"Genos.."

Said cyborg stopped and looked up, seeing his sensei stopped in front of him with a worried expression on his face.

"Hai, sensei?"

The hero rolled his eyes, "First of all, stop calling me sensei," the cyborg nodded. "And second of all, you seem a lot more depressed than usual. Is anything wrong?"

The hero had to admit that the boy was annoying at times, especially with his long speeches and the need that he must do everything perfectly for his 'sensei.' But he still cared for the cyborg, even if they had only known each other for a few months now. If something was bothering him, then he might as well find out before the blonde had any ideas of deactivating himself for some unknown reason.

Genos kept looking down, lightly rubbing his mechanical arm, "Iie, it's...nothing, Saitama…"

 _Now_ the hero was worried. Even if he had told the boy to call him Saitama instead of sensei, he never _actually_ called him by his real name (the most he'd gotten close to was 'Saitama-sensei' and still even that annoyed him); but now the boy was calling him by his _real name._ And he didn't seem to want to take it back, nor did he even acknowledge the fact that he just called him 'Saitama' instead of 'sensei.'

Something was wrong.

Placing a hand on the other's shoulder, making the other look at it with apprehension, "Hey, come on. Is something bothering you? You know you can tell me."

Genos opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again. Saitama could feel his core humming as steam slowly started to seep out of his arms.

Quickly retreating back, Saitama put his hands up, "Alright, I won't pressure you. Just calm down before you shut down or something alright?"

Genos nodded quickly, still looking down as he and Saitama walked back to their apartment.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Saitama stared at the ceiling with vague interest. It was late at night and he was sure Genos was staring at him through the darkness again, though his body didn't want to move its place at all to check if his theory was right (even though he was sure it was, the kid was watching him like a hawk 24/7). He was thinking back to earlier in the day at the restaurant when Genos had seemed so down.

' _Something is definitely wrong. He's never usually down; serious, yes, but not necessarily down. He's always doing something with his spare time...Well, mostly cleaning the house, but I'm sure he does something else!'_ the hero reverted his eyes sideways, trying to see where Genos was and found his golden hazel eyes staring at him a few feet away. _'Maybe something happened to him and he just doesn't want to tell me? I mean he didn't even want to clean or make dinner today. That doesn't really bother me, I mean I've cleaned and cooked before, but it's not like him to_ _ **not**_ _do at least something.'_

"Genos," he spoke softly, yet loud enough for the cyborg to hear with his perfect pitch functioning. "Please tell me if something is wrong. You've been down all day. You haven't been cleaning or cooking, and you keep getting nervous whenever I ask you something. Is something wrong? Please tell me."

The cyborg bit his lip, his sensors on the fritz as he tried to come up with a logical answer. The scanners projected in his eyes were beeping with alarm as they felt his core becoming too overheated, as he quickly calmed down before he accidentally self-destructed.

"Iie, sensei. It's really nothing." he finally spoke after a few tense moments of silence.

Saitama frowned, sitting up and grabbing Genos' shoulders, startling the other, "Listen! I know something is wrong, so just tell me what it is so I can help!"

Genos stared into Saitama's brown eyes, seeing worry cloud over them as he looked down, blonde bangs covering his eyes.

"I'm...I'm sorry, sensei.."

Saitama blinked as he released Genos' shoulders, "Genos, are you...crying?"

Oil dripped down artificial skin as it slowly dropped onto the carpet as light sobs passed his lips.

"Genos, why are crying? Did something happen? Please tell me!" the hero was in hysterics, trying to figure out what was wrong with his disciple.

When nothing came to mind, he did the only thing he could do. He pulled the crying cyborg into a hug.

"Genos, please tell me what's wrong." he spoke softer this time, rubbing the cyborg's back.

The other shook his head vigorously, "I can't!"

"Why not?"

A pause, before more sniffles, "I...I can't risk harming sensei….sensei means everything to me...I cannot risk losing him…"

"Genos…" Saitama sighed, pulling back slightly to gaze at Genos's face in the darkness, "I'm not going anywhere, okay? You don't have to worry about losing me, I promise."

Another small sniff was heard from the cyborg as Saitama grabbed some tissues and started to dab his face clean. Genos sat seiza style and let his sensei clean him up, eyes gazed downwards as he contemplated on what he should tell him.

"Sensei…" Genos started, making Saitama look up, "Can I tell you something..?"

"Of course, Genos," Saitama smiled easily, turning on a lamp to illuminate the room, "You can always tell me anything."

A moment of silence was heard before Genos mustered the courage to finally speak, "...I'm scared, sensei."

"Eh?" Saitama blinked stupidly for a few seconds, "Scared? Of what? Is there a new danger that you're worried about?"

"No, not that, it's just…" Genos sucked in a breath, "I'm scared...of myself."

"Yourself?" Saitama furrowed his brows, "Why are you scared of yourself?"

"I...I want to feel human again, sensei," Genos remarked, staring down at his metal hands, "It's scary…..knowing I can't feel or anything….I can't feel warmth or cold and it's...it's starting to unnerve me."

A hand placed itself over his and he looked up, finding warm brown eyes staring into his own, "Genos, you don't have to be afraid of yourself. You're fine just the way you are. You don't need to be human to feel warmth or cold or to feel anything. You're feeling something now, aren't you? You're _feeling_ an emotion. Just because you're a cyborg doesn't mean you can't feel." he smiled, "And who knows? Maybe that Kuseno fellow can program a sense of touch in your system!"

Genos smiled as well, golden eyes gleaming as he gripped the hand in his. Granted, he couldn't feel the warmth that he knew was Saitama's palm, but he felt the strength and the steady pulse of his heartbeat. It was all Genos needed to know that he was most definitely _alive,_ and more importantly could feel like he used to. His core heated up as he was overcome with joy, nearly crushing Saitama in a hug as he buried his face in his nightshirt.

"Thank you so much sensei!" he cried.

A laugh tore from Saitama's throat as he balanced both of them, hugging the cyborg around his waist and felt the warmth radiating from his core. He smiled and buried his face in the metal neck, nuzzling some small hairs at the nape of his neck with his nose. He heard Genos sigh contentedly as he relaxed against him, leaning over to turn off the lamp. He gently laid them both down and heard Genos's core hum.

"Night, Genos."

"Goodnight, Saitama.."

Saitama smiled.

 _A free bird leaps_

 _on the back of the wind_

 _and floats downstream_

 _till the current ends_

 _and dips his wing_

 _in the orange sun rays_

 _and dares to claim the sky._

 _But a bird that stalks_

 _down his narrow cage_

 _can seldom see through_

 _his bars of rage_

 _his wings are clipped and_

 _his feet are tied_

 _so he opens his throat to sing._

 _The caged bird sings_

 _with a fearful trill_

 _of things unknown_

 _but longed for still_

 _and his tune is heard_

 _on the distant hill_

 _for the caged bird_

 _sings of freedom._

 _The free bird thinks of another breeze_

 _and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees_

 _and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn_

 _and he names the sky his own_

 _But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams_

 _his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream_

 _his wings are clipped and his feet are tied_

 _so he opens his throat to sing._

 _The caged bird sings_

 _with a fearful trill_

 _of things unknown_

 _but longed for still_

 _and his tune is heard_

 _on the distant hill_

 _for the caged bird_

 _sings of freedom._

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this OPM story, and sorry for the very long wait on the last chapter. My OPM muse ran out but I recently regained it.**

 **Poem by Maya Angelou.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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